Bonds
by MikoGalatea
Summary: NelxClair, written for the 1sentence community on LJ. The most remarkable thing about the Crimson Blades was their devotion to one another...


The following work was originally written as a response to a claim made on the "1sentence" theme community on LiveJournal, which basically sees you taking a theme set and writing a sentence for each theme based around your pairing of choice; for more information, please visit that community.

**Fandom:** Star Ocean: Till the End of Time  
**Pairing:** Nel Zelpher x Clair Lasbard  
**Theme set:** Epsilon  
**Top Rating:** T (just to be safe, for a few instances of mild sexuality)

**Disclaimer:** No, I don't own Star Ocean 3 or its characters, and I certainly don't make any money out of this fanwork either.

**Other Notes:** Shoujo-ai. May contain game spoilers. The sentences here vary a good bit in length and don't have any relation to each other apart from the overall pairing. There's fluff, there's angst, and there's a certain amount of semicolon abuse on my part.

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**1. Motion**  
While Nel and Clair sparred together as part of their training, it was clear that each was finely tuned to the other's movement; it took a particularly close relationship to have that kind of intuition.

**2. Cool**  
Aquios often got quite hot in the summer, which was why Nel and Clair had chosen to relax in the shade of one of the big trees in the eastern part; Nel, tired from her work, was gently leaning against Clair while she snoozed.

**3. Young**  
When they were both much younger, Nel had viewed Clair as something of a big sister; of course, she never would have though at the time that their relationship would shift from a familial bond to a romance, which was something that still put an amused smile on twenty-three-year-old Nel's face from time to time.

**4. Last**  
Clair wanted the moment of bliss she was sharing with Nel to last forever.

**5. Wrong**  
Nel firmly believed that those who thought it was wrong for her to love another woman, were the ones who were wrong.

**6. Gentle**  
It was surprising to note that such a tough woman as Nel would be so gentle with her lover; it didn't surprise Clair so much, though, because she saw more of Nel's gentle side than anyone else would ever be able to.

**7. One**  
Just before she left on a mission once again, Nel took a moment to share one small kiss with Clair.

**8. Thousand**  
It didn't matter if a thousand men proposed to her; Clair would always choose Nel over every single one of them.

**9. King**  
Nel ran a hand through her hair and groaned with disappointment; she'd misjudged a move, and now Clair had defeated her king in a game of chess once again.

**10. Learn**  
Today Nel and Clair learned that it was probably not such a great idea to display their affection for one another so openly in front of guests, particularly when the guests in question were two male engineers from a foreign land, one of whom had come off as a bit of a pervert already.

**11. Blur**  
When Nel was beginning to come to after being unconscious for several days, all she could see at first was a blur, a fuzzy mess of colour – she made out black, silver, and maybe a touch of amber; even before her vision cleared she knew she was waking up to a worried Clair, who'd been by her side the whole time.

**12. Wait**  
For eight months now, Clair had waited for Nel to return; it had been so long since she disappeared, and most of Aquaria was now assuming she had to be dead, but Clair still held onto the hope that Nel would come back - she just had to wait a little longer, surely...

**13. Change**  
As a rather conservative country on an underdeveloped planet, Aquaria was still coming to terms with such a radical change in its world view, now that so many of its people's beliefs had been proven false; Nel, however, took comfort in the fact that Clair was still the same person she always had been.

**14. Command**  
As the decisive battle between Airyglyph and Aquaria began, Nel watched Clair direct a group of her soldiers before heading off with the Greeton engineers, and was once again reminded that the other woman was an excellent ally in battle as well as a good friend and lover.

**15. Hold**  
Clair held Nel tightly in her arms and wouldn't let go for several moments.

**16. Need**  
When away from home on a mission, Nel often had trouble getting to sleep on the first night or two; it was as if she needed Clair's warmth next to her in order to feel comfortable enough.

**17. Vision**  
The pillars of light that had come crashing down from the heavens stirred up dust clouds that made it almost impossible to see; Clair began to worry that she would never see Nel again, but when her partner entered her field of vision again, she breathed a sigh of relief.

**18. Attention**  
Sometimes Nel and Clair would show their affection for one another in public places – while off duty, of course – which, it had to be said, did draw some odd looks from male passers-by.

**19. Soul**  
No matter how stressed Nel may have been from her work, just seeing Clair somehow had a calming effect on her soul.

**20. Picture**  
Nel and Clair were smiling and cuddling each other in the runological photograph Farleen had taken of them.

**21. Fool**  
When Nel had returned to Arias after rescuing Tynave and Farleen, the first thing Clair did when Fayt, Cliff, and the others had left the conference room was reprimand her on how foolish she had been trying to undertake such a dangerous task on her own.

**22. Mad**  
Her father's constant prying into her personal life often made Clair mad, but at least with Nel she could relieve her stress in a non-destructive manner.

**23. Child**  
When Clair pouted, her face looked like that of a little girl; Nel thought it was very cute, but she wouldn't dare embarrass the other woman by telling her that.

**24. Now**  
Nel and Clair want some private time to themselves now.

**25. Shadow**  
When she saw a shadow dashing towards the southern gate to Arias, Clair drew her short sword warily in case it was a monster – or worse still, a Glyphian soldier – but when she realised a split second later that it was only Nel, she relaxed her guard.

**26. Goodbye**  
Saying goodbye had never been easy on Clair; perhaps she worried too much for Nel, but with every farewell came the nagging fear that this would be the last time she saw her partner alive.

**27. Hide**  
Nel was a master of stealth and thus fancied herself as being quite good at hiding things - but that notion was challenged somewhat when Clair found the 'surprise' birthday present Nel had been hiding from her a little too easily.

**28. Fortune**  
The talisman Clair had given Nel before she went with the Greeton engineers to retrieve the copper really had proved to be a good luck charm; what else, other than a blessed gift from her lover, would give her such good fortune that she was able to defeat even Albel the Wicked?

**29. Safe**  
When the celestial ships had suddenly attacked and indiscriminately wiped out hundreds of soldiers, Nel developed a nagging fear that Clair could be among the casualties; she had to get back to camp quickly, to make sure she was safe...

**30. Ghost**  
As a child Clair would always hide under the bed covers at night because she was afraid of ghosts, but Nel would always assure her that she would stay by her side and protect her from any ghosts that might appear; of course, there never were any, but until she was older Clair thought it was Nel who kept them away.

**31. Book**  
Nel noticed that Clair was reading a book; she peered over her girlfriend's shoulder out of curiosity and smiled when she saw that it was a lesbian romance novel.

**32. Eye**  
When Clair opened her eyes in the morning, the first thing she saw was Nel's own violet eyes watching her, and then the other woman's warm smile, and that in turn made Clair herself smile.

**33. Never**  
After returning from her perilous journey into the stars and beyond, Nel had to promise Clair that she would never leave for such a long period of time without warning ever again.

**34. Sing**  
Clair was quietly singing a traditional hymn to herself while she worked, and Nel found she couldn't help but hum along with her.

**35. Sudden**  
It had happened so quickly; one moment Nel had been right by her side uttering an incantation for a runological spell, the next moment a Glyphian arrow had caught her in the neck; and just as suddenly Clair had jerked awake from that horrid nightmare.

**36. Stop**  
Clair had to try and stop Nel's suicidal rescue mission; as much as she would hate it if Tynave and Farleen died, she knew it would be far worse on her if the woman she loved was killed as well.

**37. Time**  
Too much time had passed since Nel disappeared during that investigation of the Kirlsa Training Facility after the war; while it wasn't uncommon for the redheaded soldier to be gone for long periods, Clair felt that time slowed almost to a standstill when this sort of thing happened.

**38. Wash**  
When Nel offered to wash Clair's back for her while they were both bathing, the silver-haired woman found that she enjoyed it perhaps a little too much.

**39. Torn**  
Nel had been torn between staying in Aquaria to protect her country and leaving for the 4D world; she didn't want to abandon her people, but at the same time, the idea of everything and everyone she held dear – and Clair, especially – literally vanishing frightened her to the core.

**40. History**  
Never, over the course of Aquaria's history, had there been a pair of Crimson Blades as dedicated to both their country and each other as Nel and Clair.

**41. Power**  
Nel and Clair were known for their runological power, and they held further power as Crimson Blades; but in the end, it wasn't that important to them.

**42. Bother**  
It always bothered Clair when her father wouldn't acknowledge the fact she was in love with Nel.

**43. God**  
Clair was so beautiful, Nel thought, that it was as if Apris Himself had created her to be the perfect woman.

**44. Wall**  
Passion had gotten the better of both of them, and now Nel and Clair were indulging in a bout of lovemaking against the wall of their room.

**45. Naked**  
Nel traced the intricate runological patterns adorning Clair's naked body with the tip of her finger; this was a moment of intimacy she wished they could share more often.

**46. Drive**  
While Farleen drove the wagon across the Palmira Plains, Clair rested her head on Nel's shoulder in the back.

**47. Harm**  
Nel swore to herself that she would personally kill any Glyphian that dared lay harm on her beloved Clair.

**48. Precious**  
Even if worse came to worst and Aquaria really did fall, as long as Clair remained, Nel felt she would still have a reason to live; that was how precious she was to her.

**49. Hunger**  
Clair knew Nel would be hungry by the time she got back, so she asked the cook to have a meal ready for her beforehand; later they were to share this meal.

**50. Believe**  
As much as Clair worried about Nel undertaking all those dangerous missions, she believed in her; she knew her lover would never let her down.

-

C&C is both welcome and appreciated.


End file.
